Did I make a difference today?  Am I making any impact at all?

Doubts buzz around my head.  My to-do list seems lengthier than my will, and I can't seem to scratch anything off it anymore than one can scratch out air.  As the midnight clock splits the emptiness with each thunderous tick, my own mortality knocks on my cranium, refusing to be forgotten.  My time, my days, my every breath is an investment from my Heavenly Father.  Will I bury it in the dirt, refusing to draw interest?  Will I while away the time until the end, wondering where it's gone and wondering where I missed my chance to make a difference?  Or will I hear at the end of my days a "well done, good and faithful servant"?  Stepping off the plane and onto the mission field is not a guarantee that I will make a difference; it's only the first step.  It's the daily walk with God that bears the fruit, one day at a time, one step at a time.

We are not called to be wielders of a shoulder-shrugging faith.  Through the Holy Spirit and by the blood of Jesus we are born again with authority to be radical, transformed, set apart from the world, to be people of integrity.  We are empowered to stand firm in a shaking world, to pray for our enemies, to protect the helpless, to be thankful in the midst of trials, to be joyful in the face of death.  God does great things in us, his children.

Are we making a difference?  With the Holy Spirit of Yahweh living inside of us, how can we not?  But we may not see the impact we have.  If you are like me, wondering if your walk with God is making a difference in the world, take these words from Mother Teresa as encouragement:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

All my zealous endeavors and idealistic inspiration falls flat before the cross.  Savior, the measure of my strength lies between your outstretched hands.  Christ has already made all the difference.